sharm dive company ??

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Well
The arch starts at the depth of more or less 56 meters. This is not the depth you try with single 11 liters (because the standard Egyptian tanks are classin American 80 cubic feet - so it's more or less 11 liters despite the fact everybody calls them 12 liters). This is not enough for unexperience diver with high SAC. Not to mention narcosis.
jai Bar - you're right - some of the accidents took place in the Canyon and media mistakely called it Blue Hole.

Mania
 
The coast that lines the gulf of Aqaba is such that regardless of where you go into the water, you can expect almost everywhere a potentially deep dive....a VERY deep dive. This is the fact that makes the gulf of Aqaba, a sort of Mecca for technical divers and "wannabe tekkies". Another fact is that the coast around Dahab has a number of fantastic dive sites, such as those that guys have mentioned in previous posts. People here even have a photos of some dive sites in their avatars...:))

It is one of the greatest places on the face of this earth for diving. This is undesputable fact, and everyone who has ever dived Dahab will eagerly attest that it is so. Unfortunately, it is becoming overvisited and overdived and, by the looks of it, it will soon become another Sharm El Sheikh, which is sad. Rapid development will bring in even more tourist divers, and we can expect that statistics in diving fatalities will follow suit.

It is pretty hard not to be exposed to the stories about fatalities in the Blue Hole (much less in the Canyon and other dive sites), but even if you visit that place in January, when Dahab looks like a ghost town, there will always be a lot of divers there. Among them, of course, there will always be a few "wise guys with wrong attitude" who would think that they can beat the odds and do The Arch. Diving deep at "El Bells" has the same reputation.

If somebody has decided to do such thing, there is no way that anybody can say anything that would make them change their mind. Humans are just like that! Especially men. We are competitive and curious. When those two things get together, you get a highly combustible substance that explodes in our brain leaving only a strong determination to do most stupid things despite the warnings of wiser or more experienced people. When you add to that a spice of mistery, we also tend to go blind.

That is the Blue Hole. In its essence, a very dull dive site. None of the main reasons why people come to dive in The Red Sea is there. No corals, no fish. Well, there is some of both, but not nearly as much as on the outside wall, coming from "El Bells". It is also dark and deep, so if you are not sure in your buoyancy skills, it is definitely not for you.

On the other hand, it is the most popular dive site in Dahab (well, actually some 4km north of Dahab, give or take a few meters). Blue Hole has its appeal, and with most divers, it is in its morbid mystery. A lot of people just have to test themselves somehow by diving into the deep of the Blue Hole. They have to prove something to themselves, and there is never a solid explanantion to the question: "Why?". Maybe it is because it is there and it beckons? It is definitely a challenge, both for technical divers, as well as for those who practice deep diving on air (and there are many). Most of them who take it seriously, and go down only after good training, preparation and planning, will most likely keep the experience to themselves. It is a very private one, and do not try to ask them to tell about it.

Anyway, if you want to have a great time underwater and enjoy fabulous marine life that Red Sea has to offer, I suggest that you skip the Blue Hole and focus on more attractive dive sites in Dahab, like: Canyon, Islands, Moray Garden, Um Sid, Gabr El Bint (a boat trip) or Ras Abu Gallum (a camel safari).
 
Alex, you said it all.

Now guys do you think compiling a report of the Blue Hole's arch dive would be of any benefit? I could make a report stressing all the hazards one would encounter in this dive. I know it by heart.

What do you think Mania?
 
Well
I'm not sure. In other thread I didn't describe details of the exact location and diving Thomas Reef Canyon or some of the caves I know in Ras Moh. Mostly because this is a difficult dive site as Blue Hole is. Unfortunately I have seen a lot of divers doing the arch without any technical training and as I wrote - with a single tank and on air.
I would be worried that details could push one more unexperienced and undertrained diver to go there to see. These places are absolutly beautiful (Blue Hole, Canyon or Thomas Reef) but they are dangerous.
Mania
 
Red Sea Shadow:
Alex, you said it all.

Now guys do you think compiling a report of the Blue Hole's arch dive would be of any benefit? I could make a report stressing all the hazards one would encounter in this dive. I know it by heart.

What do you think Mania?

IMHO, it is allways better to share knowledge with others. Some will benefit from it out of pure interest, to others it may help make a decision. And- if someone has decided to do something- I think it is allways better to provide him with as much reliable information as possible. Denying information is allways a mistake and does not help. I don't think that "writing about sites" may push divers to do foolish things- we can see everyday in National Geographic TV channel divers exploring a deep wreck, a dangerous cave, freediving to 100 meters or diving under the ice in Antartica etc. etc. And as a matter of fact, it does not push most of us to go out and kill ourselves trying to imitate such deeds. Humans are more sophisticated than we would like to think :wink:


Luckily, information about the Blue Hole is already available to the public in sites like the one below:
http://www.blueholeproject.com/
The site also covers some of the more famous canyons in the area, like Abu Helal and Abu Telha (which are not so popular, but I think they are one of the best dive sites near Dahab). It has some cool maps, photos and "Extreme ironing" clip :)
 
Whatever we would write about how dangerous some dive sites might be (or are), would not stop divers from "checking them out". They would do it anyway. Giving people a true account about those dive sites might help those who already decided to go there, and provide them with some credible information from the people who have "been there and done that", and make their dive more safe. We could try and hope that they would take our information into account.

There is a ton of very useful information on:

http://www.blueholeproject.com/

Of course, the best way to dive the Blue Hole is a "technical way". However, it is also the most expensive way. Talking about the costs doesn't make much sense when one's life is at stake, but we have to understand that there is not a lot of people who think like that. Also, it seems that doing on air something that other people do on trimix, gives to some people a sense of self accomplishment that is so strong as an emotion, that is almost impossible to make those people think otherwise, and we shouldn't even try to do that.

However, by writing about it, we could collect a plethora of useful information and personal experiences which would help them in making their own dive plan, regardless whether they want to do it on air or trimix. So, I vote YES for Shadow's proposition.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And to answer Bubblemonkey: I see that you already decided in favour of Sharm, having booked a hotel and all, but do find time to visit Dahab. If it is not too late already, Hilton Hotel in Dahab is also a fine place to spend a honeymoon. Plus, it has a dive center there. And who says that you cannot dive and ride bikes, well maybe not at the same time, but if you like quad bikes, Dahab is the best place to do it! Maybe not in between the dives. Maybe you don't have anything against giving your bones a rattle, but you should let those nitrogen bubbles offgas in peace....
 
OK guys - you made your point. So let's go for it.
But I will still keep secret some of the caves, OK? Because - honestly - very few people know them....
:D
Mania
 
Did you see that, Shadow? Mania gave us a green light! So? Who is going to start first? You?
 
Atlantean:
Did you see that, Shadow? Mania gave us a green light! So? Who is going to start first? You?

Sure. Soon I'll start a new thread called [Dahab's Blue Hole; The Arch].
BTW, I tried to dowload the video at blueholeproject.com but seems corrupted. I only managed to download 202 MB out of 16.8 MB. Any suggestions?
 
Nope, no suggestions. It is just not possible. I tried that myself and it didn't work. Maybe it would be better to contact guys from the Blue Hole Project and to ask them for that video, or to fix the link at least...
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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